PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Fair will again host a beer garden after last year’s stand received positive feedback.
Donald Crawford, the county’s director of parks, fair and facilities, said bringing the beer garden back “was an easy decision.”
“It was successful, there were no incidents, the public acted responsibly [and] the provider did a great job and was compliant with the state liquor laws and county policy,” Crawford said.
State law mandates that the county must contract with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a special occasion license to run a concession serving alcohol.
The Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts (JFFA), which ran the beer garden last year, will run it again.
“They are a great group that is experienced in successful beer gardens, so we are excited to have them back and don’t anticipate any issues,” Crawford said.
The beer garden will be on the east side of the grandstands with a “pretty good view” of the rodeo, said Kari Chance, executive director of JFFA.
There will be straw bundles for sitting, or people can bring their own chairs.
The beer garden will open at 5 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Aug. 17 and close about one hour after the rodeo ends.
It will offer drinks similar to last year’s selection. Chance said there will likely be two to three different beers, some White Claw and a “Twisted Tea-type thing.”
JFFA’s distributor, Columbia Distributing, will help pick out drinks based on market trend. The beer garden won’t offer any wine or champagne, as per the fair’s request, Chance said.
They also won’t serve anyone who appears to be intoxicated. Chance said they had to cut a few people off last year.
“We’re pretty diligent, and we have no problem saying no,” Chance said. “It’s a family event. We want to make sure everyone is having a good time.”
Entrance to the beer garden will be restricted to those 21 and older. Accompanied minors will not be allowed to enter.
Identification must be shown at entry and again at purchase. No alcohol can be taken outside the beer garden, and no outside alcohol will be allowed in.
Chance said there will be two people at the entrance checking IDs and enforcing rules.
The county doesn’t receive any of the proceeds from the alcohol sales, although it receives a site rental fee. That fee goes into the fair’s general fund to help pay for running the fair, Crawford said.
Last year, a county public hearing about the beer garden garnered controversy. Some people said they would not return to the fair if it implemented a beer garden, according to prior reporting.
Crawford said if that happened, it was “completely unnoticeable.”
“I think a lot of the initial feedback we got was based on, they just didn’t know all the laws and requirements for putting it on,” Crawford said. “I think some of them were speaking from past experiences in other places.”
“We took that feedback seriously and made sure we were very strictly compliant, so the result of doing all of that was that we had a successful event that had no incidents,” he said.
Chance said sales from the beer garden will support JFFA’s education and outreach programs, including discounted or free youth tickets for all its events.
Chance said the beer garden generated a gross income of about $7,000 last year.
The Olympic Peninsula Rodeo Association has indicated its desire to run future beer gardens. It is a nonprofit formed to support the rodeo at Clallam County.
If it ran the beer garden, Crawford said “they would use all the funds that they generate to put right back into the rodeo arena and supporting future rodeos.”
Crawford said that, while there has been no discussion of the beer garden becoming a permanent fixture at the fair, it is a possibility.
“We need a few years of a successful, compliant beer garden before everyone feels it is completely possible,” Crawford said. “We’ll build on the momentum of our successful first year and see how it goes.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
